Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun.

by Bobbi Conner

Overview

From the joy of smearing glue on paper to the screaming delight of a bubble-blowing relay, kids love to play. In fact, it's every kid's built-in tool for experiencing the world at large. A parent-friendly encyclopedia, UNPLUGGED PLAY ("A wonderful guide," says Daniel Goleman) offers hundreds and hundreds of battery-free, screen-free, chirp-and-beep-free games and fun variations that stretch the imagination, spark creativity, building strong bodies, and forge deep friendships...and keep kids busy at the table while mom or dad makes dinner.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761143901
Publisher:	Workman Kids
Publication date:	07/18/2007
Pages:	516
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 9.35(h) x 1.05(d)
Age Range:	1 - 10 Years

About the Author

Bobbi Conner created the award-winning nationwide public radio series The Parents Journal and hosted the program for twenty-four years. She is a public radio journalist and writer. She’s the author of The Giant Book of Creativity for Kids (Parents’ Choice Recommended Seal) and Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting. Conner’s public radio program, audio interviews, books, and articles have been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, the Washington Post, Parade, Parents, Parenting, CBS This Morning and PBSParents.org. She lives in South Carolina.
 

Table of Contents

Preface: Play Matters: Why—and How—I Wrote This Book

Introduction: The Power of Play
•    Dare to Unplug
•    What’s Wrong with Electronic Play?
•    How to Use this Book

Part 1: The Toddler Play (age 1 to 2)
•    Solo Play
•    Play Ideas for Parent and Child
•    Playing with Others
•    Birthday Party Play

Part 2: Preschool Play (age 3 to 5)
•    Solo Play
•    Play Ideas for Parent and Child
•    Playing with Others
•    Birthday Party Play and Large Group Games

Part 3: Grade School Play (age 6 to 10)
•    Solo Play
•    Play Ideas for Parent and Child
•    Playing with Others
•    Birthday Party Play and Large Group Games

Appendix 1: Family Game Night
•    What Goes on at Family Game Night?

Appendix 2: The Well-Stocked Toy Cupboards
•    The Toddler Toy Cupboard
•    The Preschool Toy Cupboard
•    The Grade School Toy Cupboard

Parent Planner

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

" A terrific precription for much of what ails children and parents today."
-RICHARD LOUV, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

" Every parent ought to have this scruptious book. You don't have to have problems with plugged-in play to enjoy this feast of unplugged family favorites, forgotten and new."
-PENELOPE LEACH PH.D., author of Your Baby and Child

"Bursting with creative ideas, games, and projects to fill a child's time with healthy, stimulating, and rewarding play."
-DAVID ELKIND, PH.D., Professor of Child Developments at Tufts University and author of The Hurried Child and The Power of Play

Bobbi Conner, host of public radio's "The Parent's Journal", has put together an accessible masterpiece for kid and family fun. Unplugged Play offers 710 Games and Activities for kids aged 12 months to 10 years, and their families. Some are as easy as can be, requiring not much more than imagination and a smile. Others require the fun of gathering, collecting, recycling, organizing, making a mess and cleaning it up. None are expensive. They are old, new and made up. Some were submitted by friends, fans and others researched by teams of players (kids & parents).

The subtitle, "No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun." grabbed us. Play is SO plugged in these days, but it doesn't have to be. The unplugged play world triggers imagination, creative thinking, problem solving, independence (sometimes), resourcefulness, teamwork (often) and much satisfaction. The book is full of clever parenting tips including "What to do When Your Child Loses" the "10-Minute Cleanup Rule" and how to turn "NO" into "YES". Bring back childhood and bring back creative play. Get your own copy of this book!

We, the folks who make our own hula hoops, make our own pirate ships from milk cartons and a straw and encourage kids to make their own instruments, wholeheartedly endorse Unplugged Play. The book belongs in everyone's home, open to a new page each day. It belongs in day cares, elementary schools, camps, scouts and everywhere that play should be.
— Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Children's Music Grammy Award Winners

Editorial Reviews

You could call them "couch taters": According to a recent study, approximately 90 percent of toddlers two years and younger regular watch television, DVDs, and/or videos. Other new research findings even more troubling: "The amount of television children watched when they were fourteen was positively linked with having attention problems later; not doing homework; being bored at school; dropping out and hating school." Many parents despair that they can never "unplug" their children. But help is here: Bobbi Connor's Unplugged Play Book provides 500-plus pages of electronics-free activities for kids. The creator/host of radio's Parent's Journal has selected more than 700 games and projects that cover every age group and every type: indoor; outdoor, crafts, music, cards, guessing, grouping, solitaire -- you name it. Family-friendly fun.